On november 3rd 2011, the Museu da Casa Brasileira Sao Paulo, organised a special evening on Dutch Graphic Design. Speaker were Nikki Gonnissen of Thonik, Richard van der Laken of De Designpolitie and Karen van de Kraats. They presented recent work and discussed contemporary Dutch graphic design. The event aimed to highlight Dutch design, enabling the exchange of experience developed internationally.

Apart from the evening on Dutch Graphic design, the three speakers also gave presentations with the biggest editor of Brazil: Abril Group and met with Brazilian designers to discus eachothers work. The designers met with Marcello Rosenbaum, Rico Lins and Kiko Fargas, amongst others.

In a series of three concerts at the Roode Bioscoop, pianist Martin Fondse and clarinetist Claudio Puntin will receive Brazilian guest musicians for a surprising musical encounter!

Since a couple of years, Martin Fondse has a special relationship with Brazil. He already played with the Tom Jobim Orquestra, Andre Mehmari, Simone Sou, Clube da Música Atibaia, Douglas Lora and he composed music for tghe modern dance company Cisne Negro from São Paulo.

In the past, Claudio Puntin played with, among others, the group of Hermeto Pascoal.

In a series of three concerts at the Roode Bioscoop, clarinetist Claudio Puntin and me received guest musicians with a close relation to Brazil for a surprising musical encounter!

Paulinho Paes (guitar), GJ Binkhorst (saxophones, flute)and Bart Fermie (percussion) played music by Hermeto Pascoal and originals. The meeting with Bart Fermie was almost entirely improvised! What a luxury of sounds he brought with him!

Since a few years, I have a special relationship with Brazil. I was lucky to be performing with the Tom Jobim Orquestra, Andre Mehmari, Simone Sou, Clube da Música Atibaia, Douglas Lora and I composed music for the modern dance company Cisne Negro from São Paulo.

In the past, Claudio Puntin played with, among others, the group of Hermeto Pascoal.

Brazilian musician Nelson Latif gives three concerts with fellow musicians. Nelson Latif is part of the generation of musicians of the 80s in Sao Paulo. During his studies he focused on choro and jazz, developing a unique style on the guitar. His melodic lines are strongly influenced by bebop and Brazilian syncopated rhythms. But the virtuoso technique of flamenco is also an important part of Latif’s style.

As part of the Brasil Festival Amsterdam, theatre company Flint brings a tribute to the poetry of the phenomenal Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade (1902-1987) with the play ‘Midden op de weg’ (translated: in the middle of the street). Andrade is one of the most important Latin American poets of the last century. In collaboration with Brazilian guitarist and cavaquinho player Nelson Latif Flint he created an exciting music-theatre with a Latin-American slant. Besides Nelson Latif, Felix Strategier (artistic director of Flint), Joeri de Graaf, Alan “Gunga” Purves and Wolter Wierbos are part of the show. The performance is largely Dutch with short Brazilian (Portuguese) interludes.

Artists Dirk Jan Jager and Rose Akras developed a Brazilian program for the Museum Night (Museumnacht) at the Oude Kerk in November 2011 entitled “Full Brazilian and other rituals”. This program lay an emphasises on rituals and syncretism. Brazil is known as a meeting place of different cultures and Syncretism. The blending of ideas is the essence of Brazil. The Oude Kerk, which is the oldest ritual site of Amsterdam, turned out to be a beautiful backdrop for this special meeting between Brazilian and Dutch contemporary artists.

During the evening work was shown based on rituals from the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé and an interactive ‘happy healing’ experience under a 4×4 meter pyramid by the Dutch art collective ‘Elektriciteit is Onze Hobby’. Brazilian artists such as Maurício Ianês, Ayrson Heráclito and Edgar Camargo took part in the event. Apart from that, visitors could also relax, stretch out in the beach chairs by the Praia Bar where ‘caipirinhas’ and ‘pão de queijo’ were served, along with other typical Brazilian drinks and snacks provided by Sabor de Maria. Apart from that, visitors could also get a Brazilian wax or a good fortune soap for bathing rituals. The evening ended with DJ Neiro and his special Brazilian music collection.

For Dutch people dance isn’t part of their everyday life. In Brazil, dance has a totally different meaning and value. In Brazil dancing is part of their culture. Swing on 2 is a dance exchange project between two Brazilian dance companies and a group of Dutch dancers from Arnhem. Two Brazilian dance teachers gave a quick view in Brazilian dancing culture and the Dutch participants without any dance experience had the chance to experience the Brazilian way of thinking about dance.

We could see the importance of dance in Brazil’s daily life through the way in which the Brazilian dance teachers worked with their students. Their methods showed us how useful dance can be in achieving social goals and bringing together individuals, who had never met before. It also showed the power of the moving body. Of course the Brazilian teachers and Dutch participants had to deal with a language ‘barricade’, but eventually everybody felt the energy dancing can bring to an individual and especially to a group. The enthusiasm and we felt during the energetic performances in Malburgen and in the big theatre in Arnhem where they performed was incredible.

Description

During one week in October 2011, two Brazilian dance companies who use to work with youngsters from low-income neighborhoods in Brazil have worked with two groups from the neighborhood Malburgen in Arnhem. Malburgen is considered as a relatively poor working class neighborhood with a big variety nationalities among the inhabitants. During one week, one group of youngsters and one group of individuals of all ages have been working to perform in the premier of GEKKEBEKKEN, by Introdans Ensemble for Youth.

Who: Introdans Interactie, the educational department of modern ballet company Introdans from Arnhem/ The Netherlands, Arquitetura do Movimento from Rio de Janeiro and Corpo Cidadãofrom Belo Horizonte.

Idea of exchange: Exchange of didactic methods for dance education in different cultures and social inclusion of disadvantaged youth through dance.

Dutch djs / Brazilian-music-lovers Antal Heitlager (Kindred Spirits) and Kees Heus (Paradiso) have been for years fascinated by the almost-forgotten Brazilian musician-composer Arthur Verocai. During the Brazil Festival Amsterdam they decided to bring the meastro over to Amsterdam for a special concert between Dutch and Brazilian musicians to perform his masterwork, his self-entitled album Arthur Verocai. The artist-set-up was added by Zuco103 singer Lilian Veira and Brazilian soul legend Carlos Daffe. The concert took place on sunday the 16th of October 2011 in Paradiso, Amsterdam.

As part of the Brasil Festival Amsterdam, INTO THE GREEN was an exhibition by artists from Brazil and the Netherlands who call attention for a sustainable and responsible relation with the enviroment and the (re)valuation of the everyday. The use of recycled materials, scents and herbs is key.

The below work by Brazilian artist Carlos Nader was demonstrated during the opening of the INTO THE GREEN exhibition in Frankendael, during the Brasil Festival Amsterdam. It demonstrates the vision of the Amazone as a paradise we have in Europe , which is far from realistic. The real jungle is less idyllic, especially where it is threatened. Nader brings to the attention the distorted - strongly idealized – picture we have, and the distance we therefore maintain to this area and its issues.

ARCAM has worked on an exchange of knowledge on the cities Amsterdam and Recife between Brazilian and Dutch architects.

A dialogue between Amsterdam and Recife is interesting because both cities are water cities and are situated in a delta area, as a consequence of which they both owe their existence and some of their problems to the water. In Recife, a city in the northeastern part of Brazil, and in Amsterdam, farreaching measures must be taken with regard to the future; measures that must be aimed at renewal, while at the same time they must also be in keeping with historical achievements. Remarkably enough, in this regard, too, there is a strong link between Recife and Amsterdam: Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco lies in the middle of the former Dutch colony of New Holland.

The dialogue can be followed via the rXa Blog and led to an exhibition at ARCAM (15.10.11 – 26.11.11) that opened October 14 2011 with a seminar.

The project took place in the framework of the Brasil Festival Amsterdam and the Ano da Holanda no Brasil (Holland year). The partners in the project were the Universiteit van Pernambuco, the Municipality of Recife, the State Pernambuco, the IAB (Brazilian architect association) and on Amsterdams side co-curator Paul Meurs (SteenhuisMeurs) and advisors from DRO, Waternet, BMA and DIVV. The project got support from the Dutch Embassy in Brasil and the Brazilian Embassy in the Netherlands.